


Nebulae

by LadyMuzzMuzz



Series: Navigating the Stars. [12]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship, Set quite a bit in the future in the Navigating the Stars Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23399809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMuzzMuzz/pseuds/LadyMuzzMuzz
Summary: He looked down at your delicate hand, now dwarfed by his strong ones.  It seemed like a few hours ago that it was a small child’s holding it, and just yesterday it was a tiny infant’s fist gripping onto your little finger.
Relationships: Nero & Reader
Series: Navigating the Stars. [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1491467
Comments: 14
Kudos: 80





	Nebulae

You were putting the finishing orders on the bookshop order list when you heard the familiar thud of the front door, and the shuffle of shoes and jacket being removed. It wasn’t Dante, there was something sloppy, but flashy in the way he did it, nor was it Vergil, who’s movements were deliberate and steady. Nor could it be Alex, who was sitting in her room, listening to music (you could hear the faint thuds as she danced to music only she could hear on her headphones) No, it had to be Nero, which was odd, since you expected him to be still in Redgrave, in college right now. One more semester, and the young man would be finished with his schoolwork. 

“Mom? You home?”, your son’s voice rang out, confirming your suspicions.

“Yes!” you called out, “in the kitchen.”

A few moments later he appeared, and before he could say anything, you got up and gave him your best enveloping hug. (It was impossible now, no longer was he the small boy, he had grown into a tall strapping young man).

“When did you arrive back?” you said after letting him go, as you headed to the cupboard. “You must be famished, I think I managed to hide some of your favourite cookies from your uncle… oh no… oh wait, here they are!” You reached a fake can of peas and unscrewed the lid.

“Just got back into town an hour or so ago, I hitched a ride with this chick who’s studying engineering, Nico.” He attempted to not look too eager to grab the lemon macaron, and nibbled on it impatiently. 

“How’s school going?” you asked as he finished it and he took another one.

“Good, gotta one more assignment to do before exams,” he licked the crumbs off his lips and looked around, almost nervously “is dad home?”

“No, he’s out on a job with your uncle, it’s just me and your sister home right now,” you watched the tension ease out of him, “Nero, is something the matter?”

“Nah, it’s nothing major...it’s just,” he chewed thoughtfully, “well, I have to study and take photos of a city with a consistent architectural style and I figured… well, Fortuna would be the perfect place for that. I mean, I’ve seen photos of it, and I think it would be a perfect place to analyze, and to be inspired by. It’s just…” he took a sip of the glass of milk you offered him, “you know how dad is with that place, even if it’s been over a decade since they attacked us, and we’ve heard nothing from them since then.”

“Ah,” understanding dawned on you, “yes, I suppose your father would be rather cross, even if I think he’s overly paranoid. You can’t really blame him though.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, “But he really needs to stop being a mother hen. I’m twenty five years old, a lot older than he was when he went there,”

“He only acts that way because he cares about you, Nero” you said as you took a delicate yellow macaron for yourself, “but, if it has any weight, you have my blessing to go.”

So surprised at your sudden agreement, he almost dropped the cookie, “Really? You mean it?”

“I wouldn’t say something like that if I didn’t truly mean it, Nero, besides,” your smile was hidden behind your cup of tea that you nonchalantly took a sip from, “I’m certain it’s not just the buildings that interest you, but perhaps that young lady you’ve been corresponding with?”

Now the cookie was dropped, and it rolled off the table onto the floor, before coming to a stop in front of the fridge. Your son spluttered, a wave of crimson flooding his face revealing his true intentions.”

“No!... I mean, yeah… she invited me over to visit her and her brother, but I swear I am going to study architecture, I figured ‘Hey, two birds, one stone’ right?”

You chuckled softly as you set your cup down with a quiet  _ tink _ , “Nero, even if seeing this girl was your only reason, I wouldn’t stop you. You two have been corresponding for what, seven years? It’s high time that you meet in person.”

“Well, it’s actually not just ‘two birds with one stone’, more like ‘three birds one stone’”, he clarified and you looked at him quizzically. “The third reason I want to go to Fortuna is the reason I wanted to talk to you about it.” He looked even more nervous. “I wanted to look for my birth mother.”

Now it was your turn to be shocked. In all your years of living with them, the total amount of information Vergil or Nero had spoken about the mysterious woman could be written on the inside of a ping pong ball. And you’d never felt the need to inquire, even though sometimes you wondered about her. Was she a woman forced by circumstance to give him up?

Nero read your face and attempted to explain, “I’m not trying to form some mystical mother-son bond with her… hell, I might not even try to speak to her. I just want to know who she was, and why she gave me up.”

“Nero,” you placed a comforting hand on his, “you know that this has a good chance of this ending up being painful for you. Fortuna has a whole different culture than here, and people aren’t very accepting of those who don’t follow their version of morality”

“Yeah, I know,” he straightened up in his chair, “I just want to know, and if she was forced to give me up, to let her know that I don’t hold it against her, that leaving me at the Orphanage was possibly the best thing she could have done for me. Or,” his face darkened slightly, “if she didn’t want me, I’ll be able to tell her that I didn’t need her anyways, I have my own family that I cherish and love.” He looked down at your delicate hand, now dwarfed by his strong ones. It seemed like a few hours ago that it was a small child’s holding it, and just yesterday it was a tiny infant’s fist gripping onto your little finger. “But no matter what,” he held your hand, and raised it up, forcing you to look up into his brilliant eyes, “You were with me from nearly the very beginning, you were the one who cared for me when no one else would, you were the one that got me to my dad, and helped raise me to be who I am now. You will  _ always _ be my mother, first and best.”

You attempted to smile, to keep the tears from spilling down your cheeks at his confession. “Oh Nero…” you both got up and he embraced you, and you held him tightly as he kissed the top of your head affectionately. If you wanted to return it, you would have to yank him down to your level. “I’m so proud of you.. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“Well,” he chuckled, “don’t let my uncle find this out I’m a momma’s boy, I got a reputation to keep.”

A faint, yet insistent honking sound from the front of the business broke the silence. “Ah shit,” Nero broke the hug and grabbed his bag, “Nico’s back already, I promised that I wouldn’t make her wait too long before we hit the ferry. I have to go.”

“And you were gonna leave without even your favourite sister a goodbye hug?” a voice from the doorway caused the two of you to startle. There, leaning against the doorframe, a devilish grin on her face, was Alex, twirling a keychain on her finger.

Nero rolled his eyes, “How long have you been eavesdropping?”

She placed her hands up in a defensive posture. “Look, I smelled those lemon macarons I’ve been spending ages looking for, and oooh, don’t mind if I do.” quick as a flash, she yoinked one off the plate, “so that’s where you hid them, mom. Anyways, I came downstairs to see such a touching scene. Almost brought tears to my eyes.” she mimed wiping up her cheeks. “But did I hear something about going to Fortuna? Very interesting….”   
“Yeah, speaking of which, my ride’s waiting, I gotta go.” He passed her, but her sharp teeth were fixed in a conniving smile.

“Would be a shame if I happened to mention where you were heading to dad…” she said nonchalantly, wiping off the remaining crumbs with the back of her hand.” her brother froze in his tracks.

“You wouldn’t dare…” his voice lowered dangerously, but she ignored the threat (she had learned a long time ago that her big brother would never lay a hand on her)

“Well, I’m not as good at keeping secrets as mom,” she smiled innocently at you, “but… let’s say… you let me tag along, you wouldn’t have to worry about me spilling the beans, and I’m sure mom could create a decent cover story.”

Nero mulled it over before sighing, “fine…. as long as mom agrees” both of them looked to you as the final arbiter.

You smiled gently, “alright, as long as you call me when you arrive, and give me a call once a day to update me.” 

Alex did a victorious fist pump as she pulled a knapsack, and Leon from behind the doorway. “Awwww yesss,”

“It’s not just gonna be a vacation, Lex, I got important things to do there,”

“Yeah, like smoochin’ your girlfriend”

“Oh shut up,”

“Well, at least you have me to keep you behaving,”

“For the love of… you’re as bad as Nico”

“I’ll take that as a compliment”

The two of them continue to goodnaturedly bicker as they put on their shoes and coats, and within a few moments they were out the door, towards the still honking van who’s driver Nero was yelling at. Before they both hopped in, (Nero managed to call out ‘Shotgun’, much to his sister’s dismay) the turned to you, and gave you a wave, before the van pulled out at an alarming speed.

You chuckled to yourself as the vehicle disappeared around the corner, before heading inside. They had both grown up so fast, and even though they verbally sparred even more than the twins physically sparred, you knew that they would have each other’s back.

It was time for a new chapter to begin….

**Author's Note:**

> One of my favourite scenes in the _Ten Commandants_ was after finding out that Moses was the son of a Hebrew, he tells his adoptive mother that no matter what, she's still his mom. This was inspired by it.


End file.
